Over the past three months, KVH has hosted British PhD student, Stuart Woodcock (pictured) from the John Innes Centre in England. Stuart has been in New Zealand undertaking a review of the research and development surrounding Psa during an internship as part of his PhD, which involves researching pseudomonas bacteria, particularly Psa and its ability to cause infection within plants.

Psa has been estimated to have cost over $1 billion to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry since 2010. Although productivity has recovered, Psa remains a prevalent threat as the majority of orchards harbour the bacteria, with only one kiwifruit growing region has yet to exhibit infection.

More recently, the use of other biological organisms to control Psa have also been trialled and included into a control programme. All these products are effective to various extents, but it has been found that some samples of Psa has developed low level resistance to some of the controls, which could potentially make them ineffective.

Working with representatives from KVH, Zespri, Plant and Food Research and growers, Stuart has reviewed past and ongoing research addressing the threat of Psa to New Zealand kiwifruit. He has also identified areas where research needs to be strengthened and highlighted new and novel areas which may be beneficial in combatting Psa.

Stuart said his time in New Zealand has proven to be extremely valuable in his studies and continual learning development.

“It has been great to get out and about in various parts of the country to see how orchards are managing Psa and talking to orchardists about their control methods,” he said.

“I’ve been working closely with KVH and Zespri over the past few months to really get into the complexities of Psa and I hope my review will be useful in the continued management of this invasive infection.”

KVH Chief Executive, Barry O’Neil, said he was looking forward to further investigating the findings of the review.

“It has been fantastic to have someone with Stuart’s depth of knowledge working with us at KVH. He has identified some key areas of past research which can look to be strengthened in time and also highlighted some innovative ways which could potentially help with the ongoing Psa management.”

“Stuart’s review is part of the continuing research and development KVH delivers annually in collaboration with Zespri,” he said.

Four fruit fly larvae were intercepted by MPI at Wellington Airport earlier this month.

The larvae were discovered through an MPI x-ray machine in an undeclared mandarin carried by an Australian passenger arriving from Melbourne. They have since been confirmed as Queensland fruit fly – regarded as one of the worst horticultural pests in the world. Click here to read the full story.

Biosecurity News

17 November 2016

Biosecurity Week

17 November 2016

Biosecurity Week is kicking off next week with a public day at the Port of Tauranga in Mount Maunganui on Monday 21 November, 1 - 3pm.
The event marks the start of Biosecurity Week (21...

Biosecurity Week is kicking off next week with a public day at the Port of Tauranga in Mount Maunganui on Monday 21 November, 1 - 3pm.

The event marks the start of Biosecurity Week (21 – 25 November) in the Bay of Plenty and coincides with the first overnight cruise ship stay for the season. This is also the start of the high-risk season for pests entering New Zealand.

Particularly for residents that live adjacent to an international port, like those in Mount Maunganui, we ask that residents keep a watchful eye out for damaging pests such as the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and Red Imported Fire Ant.

The public day will allow residents to learn about the impacts of invasive pests on us all. The MPI biosecurity beagle dog will also be on hand to demonstrate the fantastic work they do.

Effective biosecurity awareness is critical to the Bay of Plenty region. A major biosecurity incursion puts at risk New Zealanders livelihoods, lifestyles and environment, as well as having major impacts on our orchards, forests and farms and the thousands of people they employ.

The awareness week will also see a range of activities happening at the Port of Tauranga involving Port personnel, plus industry partner visits to transitional and post-harvest facilities, to provide biosecurity collateral and raise understanding amongst industry workers.

Biosecurity Week is part of the biosecurity excellence partnership between Port of Tauranga, Ministry for Primary Industries, Kiwifruit Vine Health, NZ Avocado, Dairy NZ, Forestry Owners Association, NZ Customs and Bay of Plenty Regional Council. The partnership aims to build a port community committed to biosecurity excellence, which includes local residents as well as those working within the port.

Grower News

17 November 2016

Whangarei Monitoring

17 November 2016

The first positive orchard in the Whangarei region was confirmed in September 2015. A controlled area was put in place around the positive orchard, which restricted movement of risk material. A...

The first positive orchard in the Whangarei region was confirmed in September 2015. A controlled area was put in place around the positive orchard, which restricted movement of risk material. A second orchard was found to be positive on 7 October 2016 within the controlled area. KVH last week carried out a round of monitoring in a selection of orchards in the immediate area.

Ten orchards were selected including a local market planting. The total area monitored was 21.80ha. Three of the orchards still had 16A plantings – the others were G3 and Hayward.

Fruit had set in the 16A orchards, with flowering well underway in the G3 and bees in the orchards. Hayward flowering appeared to be a little while off with buds mostly quite tight.

Samples were taken from five orchards where some cane dieback was observed – these samples were returned Psa Not Detected.

Growers in the region have been monitoring fortnightly throughout spring, with the final round completed on 7 November. They are to be commended for their efforts and encouraged to keep up regular monitoring to enable any Psa symptoms to be identified early and appropriate action taken.

Grower News

17 November 2016

Mandatory Monitoring: Results Overdue

17 November 2016

This year all Not Detected orchards in all regions were required to monitor and report to KVH that they were still Not Detected by 31st October 2016. This is regardless of whether orchards...

This year all Not Detected orchards in all regions were required to monitor and report to KVH that they were still Not Detected by 31st October 2016. This is regardless of whether orchards are producing or not. In some regions, there are very few Not Detected orchards.

The table above records the percentage of Not Detected orchards in each region which have not yet reported to KVH.

If you were previously Not Detected but now have Psa symptoms, please contact KVH on 0800 665 825 so we can update our records. If you are unsure of your current status, please check with KVH.

NB: It is a requirement under the NPMP to report to KVH within 48 hours of seeing Psa symptoms.

Grower News

17 November 2016

Remove privet to improve kiwifruit pollination

17 November 2016

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), also known as hedge privet, is now beginning to flower prolifically. It is another invasive weed often found in orchard shelter belts, or any neglected...

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), also known as hedge privet, is now beginning to flower prolifically. It is another invasive weed often found in orchard shelter belts, or any neglected corner of the property.

Bees will be attracted to the scented privet in preference to Hayward kiwifruit flowers, so remove privet now to improve kiwifruit pollination!

Privet seed is spread by birds feeding on the high number of small, black fruits in autumn and winter. Privet has a high germination rate and establishes as an innocuous plant hidden within shelter belts or orchard margins. It is now easily identified while flowering.

Any orchard managers, contractors or staff who suffer allergies or asthma triggered by privet, should not handle the plant. Privet control, especially during flowering, must be undertaken by people whose health is not adversely affected. Contact your doctor or the Poisons Centre for advice about privet allergies. Poisons Centre information can be found at www.poisons.co.nz

Control privet by cutting off at stump level (i.e. no higher than ankle height) and applying one part Glyphosate to five parts water to the top and sides of the cut stump. Chainsaw cuts around the base of the stump can assist herbicide penetration.

Organic properties can remove mature privet shrubs with a tractor and snig chain, or dig the entire plant from the ground. Privet stumps will regrow if not entirely removed or killed with herbicide. Better practice still, is to remove privet while at the seedling stage – so learn how to identify seedling Chinese privet and pull seedlings out while undertaking shelter belt maintenance.

As always, follow all health and safety requirements when operating machinery, tools or handling plants like privet which may aggravate asthma or allergies.

Grower News

17 November 2016

Sharp increase in Hayward leaf spot symptoms

17 November 2016

Growers have reported a sharp increase in the level of Psa leaf spotting in many Hayward orchards across the Bay of Plenty this week. High winds associated with rain are likely to have contributed...

Growers have reported a sharp increase in the level of Psa leaf spotting in many Hayward orchards across the Bay of Plenty this week. High winds associated with rain are likely to have contributed to this, with spotting and flower bud infection more prevalent in wind-exposed blocks.

For most areas, the Psa risk model shows weather-related risk events have occurred regularly over the past month, which has potentially led to a series of infection events. As temperatures rise, the timing between an infection event and visual symptoms shortens.

It is likely that the apparent sudden explosion of symptoms we are now seeing is an accumulation of infections expressing at a similar time. Extended wet periods and poor ground conditions for spraying has also resulted in compromised spray cover on some sites.

Hayward growers should consider timing of flowering when responding to these recent symptoms. A reminder that Keystrepto may not be applied within one week of flowering (male or female) and a JA is required. Keystrepto and copper can be tank-mixed. Actigard and copper applied together will provide both immediate protective cover and an elicited plant response to extend protection through flowering. Actigard may not be applied to flowers or fruit and care should be taken to avoid spray drift.

For Gold growers, follow male pruning rounds with a protective copper cover. Do not apply sprays in poor drying conditions and if foliar applied “seaweed “ fertilisers are also being applied, maintain a 7-day interval between these and copper products. Skin sensitive periods for Gold3 occur around 21 days after fruit set and for Hayward, 14 days following fruit set.

Grower News

17 November 2016

KVH visits top of the South

17 November 2016

Last week KVH visited the South Island to meet with biosecurity managers from other plant sectors and discuss opportunities for closer alignment on the issues we have in common, including Brown...

Last week KVH visited the South Island to meet with biosecurity managers from other plant sectors and discuss opportunities for closer alignment on the issues we have in common, including Brown Marmorated Stink Bug which is a significant threat to many sectors. The group discussed how we might develop a shared vision for readiness and response activities under a GIA Operational Agreement.

While down south, KVH took the opportunity to visit nurseries selling plants certified under the Kiwifruit Plant Certification Scheme - it was great to see these operations doing well. Some growers were also visited to inspect unusual symptoms that had been reported. Samples were collected and fortunately these have returned non-detected results for Psa. However, this highlights the importance of growers monitoring their orchards and reporting unusual symptoms to KVH for further investigation.

Grower News

17 November 2016

On-orchard biosecurity workshop

17 November 2016

There are many known biosecurity threats which could cause significant impacts to grower’s OGR if they were to arrive in NZ.
We are unlikely to detect a new incursion on day...

There are many known biosecurity threats which could cause significant impacts to grower’s OGR if they were to arrive in NZ.

We are unlikely to detect a new incursion on day one, or perhaps even within the first year until symptoms are expressed.

Routine on-orchard biosecurity practices gives the industry the best chance at containing threats before they are detected and will provide the best shot at eradication and minimising impacts.

These were some of the messages to set the scene at KVH’s on-orchard biosecurity workshop earlier this week. Attendees included KVH and Zespri staff (who also supported the running of the event), horticultural consultants and several growers.

The workshop was the first step in identifying what on-orchard biosecurity practices are needed to ensure the industry is well placed to meet any future biosecurity challenges. Grower representatives were in attendance to ensure that any recommendations are practical, easy to implement, cost effective, and appropriate for the level of risk. This process is expected to continue into early 2017.

Company Notices

3 November 2016

Board strategy session

3 November 2016

The KVH Board will meet for a strategy session on Thursday 24 November. If there is anything you would like to be discussed at the session, please email Barry O’Neil on...

The KVH Board will meet for a strategy session on Thursday 24 November. If there is anything you would like to be discussed at the session, please email Barry O’Neil on barry.oneil@kvh.org.nz

Grower News

3 November 2016

Bactericide use

3 November 2016

Recent prolonged wet weather and/or hail events have led to high Psa risk for some orchards. Copper and bactericides (where appropriate) should be applied as soon as possible after wounding events to...

Recent prolonged wet weather and/or hail events have led to high Psa risk for some orchards. Copper and bactericides (where appropriate) should be applied as soon as possible after wounding events to reduce infection risk.